Another town shuts off water because of toxic pollution

The spill was caused by a deadly chemical plant explosion Nov. 13.
YILAN, China (AP) -- Another town on a poisoned Chinese river shut down its water system Wednesday after Communist Party members went door-to-door giving out bottled water in an effort to show that China's leaders can protect the public from the latest environmental disaster.
Running water to about 26,000 people in Dalianhe, on the outskirts of this northeastern city, stopped at 6 p.m. as a slick of toxic benzene on the Songhua River approached, said an employee who answered the phone at the county government offices.
"It will last three days," said the employee, who would give only his surname, Gu.
The government said Yilan itself should not be affected because the city of about 110,000 people gets its water from wells instead of the river.
The benzene arrived a day after Harbin, a major industrial center upstream, declared its water safe to drink after the system supplying 3.8 million people was shut down for five days.
The spill caused by a deadly Nov. 13 chemical plant explosion has embarrassed President Hu Jintao's government, which has promised to clean up the environment and do more to help ordinary Chinese.
Sharp contrast
In Yilan, television broadcast hours of reports Wednesday on the water shutdown, including a government statement warning the public not to use river water. The show of openness contrasted sharply with complaints that officials upstream tried to hide the chemical spill and initially lied about the reason for shutting down Harbin's water.
News reports showed police and party members in red armbands going door-to-door in freezing weather, handing out leaflets and giving cases of drinking water to the elderly and poor. An elderly man lying in bed shook hands with a police commander.
Communist leaders are eager to show that while they failed to prevent the chemical spill, they are concerned about public safety and can marshal the resources to get the region through the aftermath.
"I really thank the government," another man, identified as Zhou Changgui, was shown saying.
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